2 am
by whothewhaat
Summary: AU: Quinn and Emily are both in College. Both are trying to keep their relationship work despite of different challenges & circumstances. Mostly drabbles of Quinnly's day to day lives. Warning: not a famous ship but maybe you can give Quinnly a chance
1. Introduction

**INTRODUCTION**

**Pairing:** _Quinn Fabray (Glee) & Emily Fields (PLL)_

**Setting:** _Ohio_

**Summary: **

_There was no beginning… No ending. What Quinn and Emily have… Or had… These are the little things that they've shared throughout the years. _

_These are the footprints of Mckinley High's Quinn Fabray and Rosewood High's Emily Fields. _

**Author's note: **

_Had it not been for my ship-sister ShayleyDaily's encouragement, I wouldn't have pushed through on writing this fic. Quinnly's characterization's pretty much the same with the tv shows'. I haven't decided yet if I'd be including Beth here. _

_To give you a heads up, Quinn and Emily both grew up in Ohio and have been childhood friends since. Unfortunately, they had to part ways during throughout highschool because Emily Fields had to transfer to Rosewood High. Yes, I'm skipping Quinnly's high school life but there'd be mentions of Rosewood and Glee kids from time to time._

_ At present, Quinnly are both in their junior year in College in Ohio University. They're committed to each other and they're definitely trying their best to make their relationship work. There'd be mostly fluffy stuff here, a couple of heartaches in between and whatnots. This is pretty much a drabble-ish fic so I'd be jumping from one date to another. Just pay attention because a lot of things are set to happen in a year. At least that's how I planned it to be. Depends if you guys would still want me to keep writing. _

_I'm well aware of how big Achele/Faberry fandom is so this is more like a prequel for Faberry, if I may. Hence what I said on my prologue, before Quinn and Rachel became a couple; Quinn had Emily in her life. Or still has. Whichever. _

_So I hope you guys would also give Quinnly a shot the way you guys have supported my other fic, Pictures of you. And don't worry, I'm not ending that fic anytime soon._

_Feel free to share your thoughts about our Quinnly story. Yes, "our story". I mean it. : )_


	2. Prologue

_Before there was William Mckinley High School and Rosewood High, _

_there was just Quinn and Emily playing house and student-teacher _

_in a tree-house somewhere hidden in Ohio's suburbs._

_Before there was Quinn and Rachel…_

There was Quinn and Emily.

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Emily and I… We were never a match-made in heaven. But maybe… Just maybe… We're just fallen angels with broken wings, sent on a mission to find our way back to the skies-reborn, renewed with hope, unbroken.

Quinn said it'd never work out. How can she be so sure that it never will when we never really had a start?

What we have… Or had are just moments—random, continuous moments that I've learned to keep inside my imaginary Emily box. I promised to myself that one day… Soon, or maybe from a distant future… I will open it and walk through the memories that we've shared… From the beginning… To the end.

I'm Quinn Fabray.

And I'm Emily Fields.


	3. It's a Quinnly Game

**IT'S A QUINNLY GAME**

**EMILY's POV **

I still have vivid images of her at our favorite spot at the library….

I found her at my favorite section, Science—Genetics to be specific. She found her way to my spot from her favorite section, Literature—History to be exact.

I can't recall anything significant that happened during that day except for one thing…. Quinn. _She_ happened.

She sat across me, as tranquil as the water, as calm as the summer wind. I've never seen her as still as she is now yet as fragile as a glass. She welcomed me with the words, "one year", followed by an elusive smile.

Quinn knew it would break my heart to hear those two words but she looked at me, with her deep blue eyes, as if telling me that I have to hear her… That I have to _listen_ to her. She said those words with no hint of hesitation, no tinge of confusion, just plain conviction.

"One year," I repeated—slowly, surely.

How can words be as powerful as those two words? How can it have so much weight on one's heart when there never was a clear indication of where it was rooted?

I wanted to move closer to her. I wanted to drown in her smell again. I wanted to hold her hand, feel its warmth, feel her pulse rate. I wanted to feel like I'm inside her bubble. I wanted to feel like everything is just a dream because I'm with her.

I wanted to know if there's anyway I can convince her that a lot of things can happen in one year. I can still be the same Emily that she knew. Or maybe I can be a different Emily for her. Whichever Emily she wants me to be, I will be. If that's the only way I can keep her.

If one year were all I have, then I'd need at least 518,400 minutes or 365 days worth of chances. I just need her to give me a chance. Maybe one chance would be more than enough. No, maybe a year-worth of proving to her that we're still worth a shot would be enough.

Ah, that's it. I just need her to realize that there can still be a Quinn and an Emily.

Good luck, Em.

* * *

><p><strong>QUINN's POV<strong>

Emily looked at me with her bewildered hazel brown eyes…

I can look at those eyes… Always. And every time I do, I always find myself drowning from 'em, not wanting to be saved, not wanting to find my way out. It's like I'm under a spell whenever she looks at me. There's no entrance, no exit to her soulful eyes… Just this imaginary bubble keeping us together.

There, there… I can see a small, timid smile curving on her beautiful lips… Almost.

"One year," I said.

These were the first two words that came out of my mouth the moment she stood before me.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I should've said "Hey." That's more appropriate, isn't it? Or maybe "Hello. How are you?" That sounds more _normal_

Ah, there she goes again. Her hands are fiddling again inside her jacket's pockets. I know she's doing it no matter how hard she tries to hide her hands behind the table. She's waiting for me to say something after what I just said when she knows that I don't have any more words to say after that.

I had to stop myself from going near her, hold her hands, make her stop, tell her that no matter how much she fiddled; it'll never change things. Will it never, really? Way to go for being negative, Quinn.

How many times have we been through this before? Twice? Thrice? A dozen times? I don't know. I can't remember. Or maybe I remember all the times that we did but my brain is just too stubborn to keep those memories. Is that even possible?

I wanted to tell her there isn't any wall between us—not now, not ever. Just as I promised to her before. Then why do I feel like after I said "one year", the Great Wall of China suddenly fell between us? Did she see it coming too? Did she notice how my world trembled after I said those words?

What are we doing now then? I know, I know. We're staring at each other. Quinnly Staring Game, as we often calls it. Neither one of us wants to lose. Blame it on her competitive swimmer's side. Blame it on my cheerleader's side. But whichever, I'm not backing down. I won't be the first to fold. At least not again.

Wait, did she just try to remove one of her hands from her jacket's pockets? I knew it. I'm winning this game… Emily's about to fold.

"I…" we both said in unison. How cliché.

"No, you go first," she said.

"No, you go," I said.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"I love you, Quinn."

"No, _I love you_, Emily."

"No, Quinn, I love you _more_."


	4. I thought the sun was as tall as Finn

**I THOUGHT THE SUN WAS AS TALL AS FINN**

"It looks so small," Emily said as she raised her right thumb to the sun as if sizing it up. She squinted her eyes and adorably wrinkled her nose a little. She tried to move closer to me as she lay beside me while she rested her head on my almost sore left arm.

I closed my eyes and let the smell of her perfume fill my nose. Emily poked me with her left index finger, as if telling me I'm not paying attention to her… But I am. It's just so easy to get distracted whenever I'm with her—with her eyes, with her lips, with her hair, with her subtle perfume, with her warmth. I'm amazed myself I still get to utter the words that I need to say whenever she's with me.

I chuckled at the sight of Emily trying to size up the sun. She raised her left thumb again, convinced she can measure the sun. "No, it isn't," I said. "You're just looking at the sun the wrong way."

"I wasn't aware there's a right or wrong way of looking at the sun," Emily said after which she bit her lower lip and swayed her eyes down to the imaginary floor-old habit of hers that I've grown to love over the years.

"Hmm, then what is? Tell me," she said.

"First, you close your eyes…"

"And then?" She asked almost impatiently.

"Hmmm," I murmured as I try to delay my answer.

"You're just messing with me," her mood suddenly changed from 'impatient' to 'excited'. "No, fair," she playfully complained.

"Have I messed up with you before? You know I haven't. You know I'd never do that," I said.

"Sure you did, like in grade school when you and Puck hid at the-,"

Cutting her off, I said, "Na-uh, Ms. Fields. That doesn't count."

"Okay, okay. Then tell me, love. How do you measure the size of a sun?" Emily said as she closed her eyes again and raised her right thumb against the wind.

I glanced at her serene face, then to her resting eyes, then to her pursed lips… I took a deep breath of contentment having Emily snuggled close to me. I looked at the sun and secretly asked him, 'how do I measure you?'

So I said, "well, you close your eyes… take deep breaths, enjoy the air…"

"That kinda sounds mushy, Quinn."

"Ssssh, you're ruining my moment, Em."

"Mmmkay, go on then?"

"As I was saying Ms. Fields, you close your eyes… Picture the best sun that you've ever seen…

"Oh! Like when we went boating last summer,"

"Yeah, like that." Truth is, the sun only looked more beautiful because I was looking at it with Emily… _With my Emily_. I can't even remember how it looks like anymore. I probably had my 'sun version' mixed up with the 'real sun' during that day. Oh, I dunno. Whatev, really. Nothing else matters as long as I'm with Emily.

I continued, "so you picture the sun… you extend both of your arms to the front… and then try to box it with both of your hands. That's how you measure a sun."

"You used to tell me Finn hides the sun in his room that's why he's freakishly tall. That he gets his super powers from it because he can carry us both. Now 'that' and your sun analogy didn't make sense at all," Emily said after which she let out a hearty giggle.

I had to suppress my laughter at Emily… Instead I settled with a grin on my face. Dang, Emily's so gullible. That's one of Emily's cutest traits. She's a firm believer of practically everything that I say. She's like the Brittanny to Santana; yeah, something like that.

"Nope, they don't really make sense. That was the point," I said while grinning at her. Oh, I think my eyes smiled with me too.

"I knew you were messing with me!" Emily said while she slapped me on my shoulder.

"Ow! Now that hurt!" I said while massaging the part of my shoulder that she hit. But let's be honest, of course, it didn't hurt that much. For pete's sake, I'm a cheerleader. Heck, I'm used to falling on my butt 20 ft off the ground-better the butt, than my face.

"It did? Oh my go-, I'm so, so, sorry!" Emily said while she held my massaging arm and replaced it with hers. "Wait, you're not hurt. Why on earth are you smiling then?"

I replied to her with a small shrug while I playfully stuck out my tongue and gestured her to continue doing what she's doing…

Emily laced her other free hand with mine and bowed her head a little, drawing hers close to mine… A few strands of her hair fell on my face, she gestured to let go of my hand and fix the hair that fell on my face but I tugged her hand instead, held her tighter, not wanting to let go of her hand. And then she did it again, she answered back with the sweetest smile I can possibly imagine…

There she goes again. She's putting me under a spell again… She stared at me with her soulful gaze, I can almost see my face' reflection through her eyes. She smiled a bit and continued massaging the part that she hit with her other hand. She then changed her position and laid on her stomach while she massaged my 'hurt' shoulder… She bowed her head lower than before… And just when I think our day couldn't get any better, she placed a soft kiss on my bare shoulder while murmuring the words "I'm sorry."

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts so far? A review perhaps? <strong>

**Continue? Yes? No?  
><strong>


	5. You didn't have to ask

**YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO ASK**

"Will you love me still?" Quinn said while she choked on her words, hands laced while resting on her lap, her blond hair being blown by the distant wind, her hazel eyes as hollow as the sky forming above us.

"Of course, I will… I always will."

"No, I mean… After everything that's happened, after everything that we fought for… Before we got to this point… Us, together. Will you love me still?"

Those words…_ Quinn._ My life.

Quinn sat beside me, eyes affixed on the children playing at the playground, as she trailed off of her own river of thoughts again.

How many times have I found her losing herself at the sight of children? I lost count…

I lost count how she always gets reminiscent whenever she sees kids… Whenever they hear their laughter… Whenever they see them running to their moms… Whenever they are crying, it feels like Quinn wants to run to their side and wipe their tears off of her face. It's as if she's wiping her own when she does that.

And then… And then she would take a deep breath, as if trying to make more room to breathe. She'd clasp her hands after, eyes closed for a good few seconds while a small bitter smile curves on her hesitant lips. She'd take a little more time and fiddle on her fingers with their tears—feeling it with her bare hands, as if… As if having their tears against her fingers is the closest thing she can get to _her_. To _Beth._

I know… I can feel… I… Her, kids… It feels like a distant memory for her. It feels like someone else is living a different version her life.

"I love you. _I love you, Quinn. Nothing's _gonna change that," I muttered these words as I try to soothe her hurting soul.

_Silence. _

"I love you too, Emily," she finally said while she laced her hands with mine.


End file.
